Changes in Spanish Mediterranean rescue operations in view of upcoming elections

An overhaul of Spain’s operations in the Mediterranean has sparked fears among activists that Madrid is quietly gutting a civilian search-and-rescue agency credited with saving thousands of lives.

The changes to the Salvamento Marítimo rescue operation come as Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s center-left government is under electoral pressure from the far right ahead of a general election later this month.

They are trying to take apart the service,” said Ismael Furió, the president of Salvamento Marítimo’s workers’ committee, which is made up of representatives from the organization and labor unions. “They are pulling apart things that are vital for our operation.”

Four of the agency’s mid-sized rescue ships will be moved from the Sea of Alborán, where most sea rescues took place last summer, to areas that receive less migrant traffic: one to the Balearic Islands, two to the eastern Spanish city of Cartagena, and one to the Canary Islands, according to an internal February report from Salvamento Marítimo’s security and safety committee obtained and commented on by POLITICO.